Turcotte, Caufield top U.S. national junior team select camp roster

Alex Turcotte, selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the No. 5 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, was one of eight first-round NHL Draft picks invited to United States National Junior Team selection camp to help determine the roster for the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The camp, which includes 15 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goaltenders, will be held at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, from Dec. 16-17.
"We were able to assemble a roster with great balance of youth and experience for the World Junior Championship, and we're thrilled with the potential of this group," U.S. general manager and USA Hockey assistant executive director of hockey operations John Vanbiesbrouck said. "We had a deep player pool to select from and that's credit to all the organizations and volunteers developing the next wave of U.S. hockey stars. I know [coach] Scott Sandelin and his staff are excited to bring these players together at camp as we begin the challenge of creating a final roster that will give us the best chance to bring home a [championship]."

The team will travel to Ostrava, Czech Republic, where it will continue training at Havirov Arena from Dec. 20-23, including exhibition games against Sweden at Cesky Tesin on Dec. 22, and Germany at Havirov Arena on Dec. 23. The U.S. is expected to finalize its 23-man roster after its final pre-tournament game.
The 2020 WJC will be held in Ostrava and Trinec, Czech Republic from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The United States, which finished second in the 2019 WJC, will participate in Group B with Canada, Russia, Czech Republic and Germany at Ostravar Arena in Ostrava. Group A consists of Finland, which finished first at the 2019 WJC, Switzerland, Sweden, Slovakia and Kazakhstan at Werk Arena in Trinec.
RELATED: [2020 World Junior Championship schedule]
Turcotte, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 16 games. He will be joined at selection camp by three of his Wisconsin teammates, forward Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens) and defensemen Ty Emberson (Arizona Coyotes) and K'Andre Miller (New York Rangers).
Caufield, the No. 15 pick of the 2019 Draft, is tied for third among all NCAA players with 12 goals and leads Wisconsin with 20 points in 18 games. Miller, selected No. 22 in the 2018 NHL Draft, has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 18 games. Emberson, a third-round pick (No. 73) in the 2018 Draft, has three assists and a Wisconsin-high 37 blocked shots in 18 games.

In addition to Turcotte, Caufield and Miller, there will be five other NHL first-round picks at selection camp: goalie Spencer Knight (Florida Panthers, No. 13, 2019); defensemen Cameron York (Philadelphia Flyers, No. 14, 2019) and Ryan Johnson (Buffalo Sabres, No. 31, 2019); and forwards Trevor Zegras (Anaheim Ducks, No. 9, 2019) and John Beecher (Boston Bruins, No. 30, 2019).
Knight, the expected starting goalie, is 11-4-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average, .940 save percentage and four shutouts in 15 games at Boston College this season. He is one of four players at camp who helped the United States win the silver medal at the 2019 WJC, along with Miller, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (Buffalo Sabres), and forward Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes).
Jack Hughes, selected by the New Jersey Devils with the No. 1 pick of the 2019 Draft, and Joel Farabee, chosen No. 14 by the Flyers in the 2018 Draft, also played in the 2019 WJC but will not be made available for the 2020 WJC since they are playing with their respective NHL clubs.
Forward Parker Ford of Providence College is the only player on the camp roster eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft. Ford, who has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 17 games, was eligible for the 2019 Draft but was not selected.
The United States will try to extend its streak of top-three finishes at the tournament to five. The U.S. finished first in 2017, second in 2019 and third in 2016 and 2018. Prior to its current streak, the United States had consecutive top-three finishes once, in 2010 (first) and 2011 (third).
USA HOCKEY SELECT CAMP ROSTER
GOALIES: Spencer Knight, Boston College, HE, (Florida Panthers); Isaiah Saville, Nebraska-Omaha, NCHC (Vegas Golden Knights); Dustin Wolf, Everett, WHL (Calgary Flames)
DEFENSEMEN: Ty Emberson, Wisconsin, BIG10 (Arizona Coyotes); Jordan Harris, Northeastern, HE (Montreal Canadiens); Ryan Johnson, Minnesota, BIG10 (Buffalo Sabres); Zachary Jones, UMass, HE (New York Rangers); Christian Krygier, Michigan State, BIG10 (New York Islanders); K'Andre Miller, Wisconsin, BIG10 (New York Rangers); Alec Regula, London, OHL (Chicago Blackhawks); Mattias Samuelsson, Western Michigan, NCHC (Buffalo Sabres); Spencer Stastney, Notre Dame, BIG10 (Nashville Predators); Cameron York, Michigan, BIG10 (Philadelphia Flyers)
FORWARDS: John Beecher, Michigan, BIG10 (Boston Bruins); Bobby Brink, Denver, NCHC (Philadelphia Flyers); Cole Caufield, Wisconsin, BIG10 (Montreal Canadiens); Jack Drury, Harvard, ECAC (Carolina Hurricanes); Parker Ford, Providence, HE (2020 draft eligible); Jonathan Gruden, London, OHL (Ottawa Senators); Curtis Hall, Yale, ECAC (Boston Bruins); Trevor Janicke, Notre Dame, BIG10 (Anaheim Ducks); Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton, OHL (Los Angeles Kings); Robert Mastrosimone, Boston University, HE (Detroit Red Wings); Shane Pinto, North Dakota, NCHC (Ottawa Senators); Jacob Pivonka, Notre Dame, BIG10 (New York Islanders); Nicholas Robertson, Peterborough, OHL (Toronto Maple Leafs); Alex Turcotte, Wisconsin, BIG10 (Los Angeles Kings); Trevor Zegras, Boston University, HE (Anaheim Ducks)